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Studying Silversides

Hannes Baumann and his research team collect eggs and sperm from Atlantic Silverside fish at the Rankin Laboratory at the Avery Point campus. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

Hannes Baumann, assistant professor of marine sciences, specializes in research on how fish populations are adapted to natural variability in their environment and how they react to ongoing anthropogenic changes in the oceans and coastal waters. These include changes in pH (ocean acidification) and temperature (global warming), but also man-made alterations to the marine food web (fisheries exploitation) and natural mortality patterns (selection).

This summer, with funding from the National Science Foundation, Baumann and his team are conducting research on seasonal changes in spawning and offspring sensitivity in the Atlantic Silverside (Menidia menidia). The Atlantic Silverside is an inconspicuous but ecologically important fish that spawns in saltwater marshes and comprises one of the most abundant food sources for striped bass, bluefish, yellowtail flounder, and others along the American east coast.

In order to study the sensitivity of the very young fish to low pH and low oxygen, caused by climate change and excess nutrients in the water, the researchers obtain embryos from fish caught in the wild and raise them in the lab. They also produce Silverside offspring in the lab by strip-spawning males and females and then counting the eggs.

Graduate student Chris Murray is studying the sensitivity of offspring to the separate and combined effects of high CO2 and low oxygen. REU student Elle Parks is looking at the effects of CO2 and temperature on the starvation resistance of silverside larvae.

Together with Baumann, graduate student James Harrington is rearing fish in collaboration with colleagues from Cornell University, for purposes of genetic studies. Their goal is to develop an annotated genome of the species, which will assist in understanding the molecular and genetic responses of the organisms to local selection regimes and marine climate change.

Join us for a talk by Gina Barreca,2018 UCONN BOARD OF TRUSTEESDISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH

All great works of fiction, poetry and dramaâas well as texts forming mythologies, religions, national epics to heroic sagasâhave loneliness at the heart of their narrative. From Persephone to Peter Pan, from âFrankensteinâ to âFrozen,â the stories we pass along are saturated with unwilling isolation.âOnly around half of Americans say they have meaningful, daily face-to-face social interactions,â according to a 2017 study. A former U.S. Surgeon General argues that âWe live in the most technologically connected age in the history of civilization, yet rates of loneliness have doubled since the 1980s.â We need more than social media. We need social contact. We need community. How can we break through the loneliness barrier? Being alone when in need of companionship is more than sad; itâs an epidemic.Chronic loneliness is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes per day. We need to change our national story and, often, our personal ones as well.Even the concept of the âlone wolfâ is a myth. Wolves hunt in packs.

Reception to follow.

For more information about this event, or if you are an individual who requires special accommodation to participate, please contact the CLAS Deanâs Office at (860) 486-2713.

A liberal arts and sciences degree prepares students with the tools they need to excel across a wide range of careers. Given the number of options available to you, it can be overwhelming to narrow down career choices. Attending CLAS Career Night will provide you exposure to career opportunities for CLAS students.

This semesterâs focus will be on research-based careers. During this event you will engage with CLAS alumni, learn about various occupations, and gain insight about how to best prepare for your future career.

The McNair Scholars Program and the Office of Undergraduate Research invite you to join us for a brown bag research seminar.

Birds, Bacteria, and Bioinformatics: Why Evolutionary Biology is the Best

Sarah Hird, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Molecular and Cell Biology

This series is open to all undergraduate and graduate students, and is designed especially for students conducting (or interested in conducting) STEM research. These seminars are opportunities to learn about research being pursued around campus, to talk with faculty about their path into research, and to ask questions about getting involved in research.

About CLAS

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the academic core of learning and research at UConn. We are committed to the full spectrum of academics across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. We give students a liberal arts and sciences education that empowers them with broad knowledge, transferable skills, and an ability to think critically about important issues across a variety of disciplines.